State colleges 'petrified' at House budget plan

The future of Florida higher education has turned into a bare-knuckle brawl for money.

State universities are facing two very different state budget scenarios: The House wants to cut funding about 8 percent; the Senate about 2 percent.

If the House version prevails, University of North Florida President John Delaney said, “it’s really close to a dismantling of the higher education budget.” Statewide, it could mean massive program eliminations, faculty layoffs and closures of branch campuses, he said.

And although it looked like the two chambers were at a stalemate, it now appears that Senate leaders might be willing to make more severe cuts.

Delaney and other university presidents went on full attack this week to make sure that doesn’t happen. All 11 of them will be in Tallahassee today to protest the House’s budget cuts.

“Panic might be the right word,” Delaney said. “We’re on the edge of the cliff.”

The panic is somewhat new. Back in January and again in March, Delaney said a single-digit decrease would be optimistic because he feared a 10 to 15 percent cut. Despite his strong rhetoric, Delaney wouldn’t say this budget scenario is worse than what was expected.

The House and Senate versions come down to a philosophical difference: saving versus spending.

The Senate’s budget uses revenue from Indian gaming and a cigarette tax to fend off cuts that Delaney said would be “devastating.”

The House would rather use that money to build up the state’s reserves because federal stimulus money will run out in two years, leaving Florida in the same budget predicament. Senate leaders believe the economy could improve in that time.

If the House version passes, Delaney said UNF will reduce classes. He said it’s difficult to bring back academic programs once they’re cut, even if the economy improves.

There probably wouldn’t be layoffs, Delaney said, although about three dozen visiting faculty might not have their contracts renewed.

Florida State University might take the most drastic actions if the House budget prevails. FSU released a list of programs that would be eliminated: oceanography, anthropology, geological sciences, geography and German to name a few. FSU’s Panama City campus also might be closed.

The University of Florida would cut pay across the board by 5 percent, furlough all employees for three weeks and close several departments and programs, such as the Documentary Institute and the athletic training program.

At the University of Central Florida, hundreds of staff and faculty would lose their jobs.Florida Community College at Jacksonville would see 17.3 percent in cuts under the House version, which would mean staff layoffs, President Steve Wallace said. The Senate version only cuts 2.3 percent.

Wallace said he’s frustrated because he believes FCCJ can’t afford any more cuts.“Now is the time in our view to draw the line,” Wallace said. “We can’t reduce funds for higher education any further. We have to find revenue to cover these costs.”

Senate leaders were quick on Tuesday to dismiss deeper cuts to higher education, which House leaders said were necessary to keep from blowing a hole in future budgets when federal stimulus funds run out.

“We believe it’s fiscally responsible to address that today and not kick the can and force the decision to be made in the future,” said House Majority Leader Adam Hasner, R-Delray Beach.

By Wednesday, though, even though the upper chamber said it wasn’t conceding, the tone had softened. Senate President Jeff Atwater, R-North Palm Beach, said he was open to discussing cuts.

Sen. Jim King, a Jacksonville Republican who sits on the higher education funding committee, suggested there was some room for negotiation — but only so far.

“I would hate like heck to see deeper cuts,” he said. “But I’m also a realist. … Some of the cuts if made that they’re talking about would set some of our universities and some of our community colleges back eight to 10 years.”

Advertising

Stay Connected

Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted.
The Florida Times-Union ~ 1 Riverside Ave., Jacksonville, FL 32202 ~ Privacy Policy ~ Terms Of Service